A protest consisting of over 10,000 people in southwest China's Guizhou Province was quashed around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday June 29, according to the state-run media.

The unrest was sparked by the local Chinese authorities' cover up of an alleged rape and murder of a 15-year-old female student. Local residents told The Epoch Times similar incidents have happened many times in the past, but criminals were all spared because of their government background.

Angry locals swept and torched the police station, government buildings and dozens of police vehicles. The Chinese regime mobilized around 1,500 armed police from neighboring areas to quash the rioters. According to a Hong Kong media report, at least 200 people were arrested, including 30 high school students.

The report also says at least 3 people died and 150 injured in the clash.

China's state-run media classified the incident as "severe criminal offense," a challenge to "authorities of law."

I was truly amazed as it was actually the 4th of July in the USA which is a celebration of all things including the right to FREE SPEECH. I followed the link to the blog to read more. It is easy to be ignorant of world wide suffering while you are enjoying your freedoms. This blogger, a brave individual, was lucky to be getting his word out. He was not censored or imprisoned.

The big news ala CNN this morning;

Bush: Olympic boycott would insult ChinesePresident Bush has defended his decision to attend next month's Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, saying that to do otherwise "would be an affront to the Chinese people.

Greatfirewallofchina It is estimated that some 30,000 Chinese civil servants are monitoring Internet traffic and blocking content that is deemed undesirable. Typing in sensitive keywords such as ‘democracy’, ‘Falun Gong’ or ‘porno’ in a search engine results in an error message. Websites of a sensitive nature are being blocked. Internet service providers also (self)censor, as do individuals: many people do not express their real thoughts because they know these will be censored anywa According to state media, by the end of 2006 there were 20.8 million bloggers in China. Blogging, which implies venting your own opinions, has become immensely popular in China. In order to control the phenomenon the government wants blog users to register under their real name. A resourceful Chinese individual created this loophole: www.adoptablog.org. Adopt a Chinese blog, and help keep these bloggers online - anonymously.

I urge you to click on the adoptablog link to see censoring in action.

HRWChina’s system of internet censorship and surveillance is the most advanced in the world. Filtering, blocking, and monitoring technologies are built into all layers of China’s internet infrastructure. Tens of thousands of police remotely monitor internet use around the clock. The elaborate system of censorship is aided by extensive corporate and private sector cooperation—including by some of the world’s major international technology and internet companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Writers, editors, bloggers, webmasters, writers, and journalists risk punishments ranging from immediate dismissal to prosecution and lengthy jail terms for sending news outside China or posting articles critical of the political system. For example, Zhang Jianhong, former editor-in-chief of the Aegean Sea website, was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment on March 19 for “inciting subversion.”

According to Reporters without Borders,"A score of bloggers and online journalists have been thrown in jail in Iran since Sept. 2004 and one of them, Mojtaba Saminejad, has been there since Feb. 2005 for posting material deemed offensive to Islam. In Libya, former bookseller Abdel Razak al-Mansouri was sentenced to 18 months in prison for making fun of President Mohammar Khaddafi online. You have to wonder how many American bloggers would be jailed if making fun of President Bush were to be deemed 'offensive'.

I agree. China is a Hugely populated country. For one person to fight blogger's restrictions would be like an ant going up against an elephant. What can you do?It's up to you.Check out the links below. I got them from one of the 'banned' blogs.

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

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Top 10 Consumer Complaints

According to the FTC, for the eighth year in a row, identity theft is the number one consumer complaint category. Of 813,899 total complaints received in 2007, 258,427, or 32 percent, were related to identity theft.

Consumers reported fraud losses totaling more than $1.2 billion; the median monetary loss per person was $349, the report states.